CMS Audace
Audace is the sixth construct of the Shearwater frigate line, launched in the third season of 7 ABY. She is the slipway sister of Kearsarge, and the two cruisers immediately were put out on star trials together. After successfully completing the trials, they were both assigned to the Navy's ''Iron Torch Fleet'', centered around the [[CMS Typhoon|CMS Typhoon]]. They remained as mere escort ships for over a year as the cautious and conservative Crest kept the fleets very close at hand and extremely nucleic. Days before the Imperial War of Aggression, Audace was transferred to the Second Fleet operating in Yariz as part of a standard asset rotation plan. She was replaced by CMS Warder. In retrospect, this transfer preserved Audace, as Warder was utterly destroyed in the opening naval engagement. Second Fleet was ordered to disperse and hide amongst the systems around Caspia, shadowing the Imperial battlefleet, but did not engage the occupying enemy until over 2 months had passed, and the Navy mounted a much more coordinated effort. Audace did participate in that, and scored several hits on Imperial vessels. After the Cessation of Occupation was signed, the warship was again folded into the main fleet, and saw her escort and protection duties increased as the Navy awaited the construction of several new ships to replace losses. At a few instances, she was dispatched to various points on the frontier, such as the "Perlee Gate" and the region near Mikassa, to conduct anti-raider and anti-espionage patrol. When the second batch of Sh'water frigates were finally completed, Audace went in for an overhaul to bring her up to Batch II standards. She underwent her refit in Vanover Yards under Yari hands, and emerged four months later as a much cleaner and more modern ship. Her VOWLs, and corresponding management systems, had been upgraded, as had her turbolasers. Her power & sensor systems were upgraded from Lantern to Lantern II as well. Now much more capable (and tolerable to the crew), she went back on the line. With a much more conservative Crest in place than ever before, Audace, indeed the entire Navy, was heavily confined to CDU space. This would last until the presidency of Salonika Batrad, wherein the restrictions were opened up a bit more. The Sh'waters were dispatched in tentative "roving loops" around CDU space to patrol against incursions, although they found themselves frequently handcuffed by the corrupt leadership of a pair of notable Navy Admirals and dealings in The Crest — whole shipments of smuggled goods would be allowed through on the purpose that they had been under the personal arrangement of Admiral So-and-So, or Senator Such-and-Such. Increasingly frustrated by this undermining, several Senators sponsored a means of projecting Naval presence out further, at surrounding systems and locations, most notably long the Perlemian Trade Route and on the very borders of Hutt Space. Audace found herself dispatched to a location somewhere near Kashyyyk, and did her best to endure the prolonged assignment. She was at Kashyyyk in 14 ABY when the opening stanzas of the Imperial Blitzkrieg began, ordered to stay there to stand watch against any incursions. Later, she was rotated back to Caspia while the rest of the fleet went to Mikassa to regain control of that star system. While back in Caspia, the Admiralty took the opportunity to put her through a minor refit, upgrading a few components to the new Batch III standards and exchanging her obsolete L-188's for the new, and much more capable, L-202 Hellhawks. She's already been on cruises out to Taanab and Umbara, and is now back in Caspia to await a new assignment. Audace is pronounced aw-'''dáis''', referring to a species of small marine avian found on Talcline, a planet visited by the Barren Sector Fleet. The avian is known for darting amongst huge waves to snatch small fish. Audace